


reflex tuner, tune up

by sjlverhand



Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, I tagged it graphic depictions of violence to be safe its not really that graphic., Johnny worries about his little merc, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 04:34:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29344434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sjlverhand/pseuds/sjlverhand
Summary: V takes an unfortunate fall out of a window during a fight, and Johnny's just a little bit stressed about it.
Relationships: Johnny Silverhand/Original Female Character(s), Johnny Silverhand/V
Comments: 8
Kudos: 81





	reflex tuner, tune up

**Author's Note:**

> the worst part of posting on this website is having to title my work. can't we just call everything word vomit clusterfuck and be done with it.

The apartment is warm, probably a little too warm for Johnny’s tastes. But he was dutifully following Viktor’s suggestions to help Val sleep as long as possible. She’d had some surgery done today; her Reflex Tuner needed fixing up. Normally not really a huge thing, not the easiest fix but still almost routine.

The reason, however, that it needed fixing was because an Animals brute had charged her out of a third story window and onto the pavement below. Johnny frowns as he recalls just how fast things had turned sour for them.

Luckily after Val and the Brute had taken their fall, he’d been able to clean up the last two Animals in the room with him and get down to her fast. He still remembers the feeling of sheer, cold fear gripping his body when he heard the window shatter, turning just in time to catch a glimpse of the mop of her pink hair disappearing alongside the bulking mass of the gang members back and the heart-wrenching crying of ‘Johnny!’ as they fell.

Val didn’t usually let herself get shaken up, at least not while she was on a job, in the field. But fuck if she hadn’t sounded terrified. The sound of her calling out for him like that, scared and panicked, still playing on a loop in his head all afternoon.

_The brute's skull was smashed, completely and to bits. The Animal was a head and then some taller than Val and when they’d careened out the window their head had clipped the lamppost on the way down- Johnny could see the dent. He felt nauseous just thinking about how a few more inches, a slightly lower tackle onto Val, and it would’ve been her fucking brains all over the pavement._

_He dropped to his knees at her side, breathing heavy from sprinting as fast as his shaking legs could carry him down several flights of stairs and around the side of the building._   
_“V? Val, are you alright? Say something, fuck.”_   
_He pulled her out from under the Animal’s body as gently as he could. It looked like she’d somehow managed to twist them during their fall a bit, only partially landing underneath the corpse._

_“Mmm, hhurss’..” Val mumbled, conscious but dazed, her violet eyes looking at him unfocused._   
_Johnny wasted no time scooping her up and carrying her back towards their ride, and from there to Vik’s clinic._

Valerie stirs in his arm, mumbling something and trying to move around in her sleep. Johnny lets her shift a bit, keeping his hands firmly on her lower back so she can’t move too much. She was draped atop him, chest to chest, as they lay on the couch. He wasn’t supposed to let her move too much in her sleep while her back healed. She settled after a moment, going still but for her quiet breathing. Johnny lays unmoving beneath her, holding his breath as he listens to her breath for a moment. In and out, soft but there. Her heartbeat is steady against his chest. He exhales and closes his eyes, letting his head fall back.

_“You’re lucky that the Reflex Turner is the worst of the damage done. And that the concussion is minor. And that her shoulder was so easy to set. And- just, damn it. You two are lucky, this time.” Viktor spoke, yelling in everything but volume, tone biting. He did tend to be a bit harsher when he was worried about someone, V in particular._

_And also the ripper was not particularly fond of Johnny, a fact he was never shy about. But still, he cared about V and V cared about Johnny so the two of them got along well enough. Right now, however, V was unconscious, and Vik was finishing up patching up her minor injuries and chewing Johnny out while he did._

_Normally he’d give as good as he got with Vik, but right now Johnny couldn’t find it in him to argue. He felt tired, like his bones were lead, and his head was full of water or some shit. The doc was right anyways, they were lucky. Johnny looked at V’s face, much more peaceful now that it had been in the car; twisted in pain as she panted, trying to sit up and forward so she didn’t put any weight on her shoulder or back._

_Viktor had reset her shoulder first thing, popping it back in with practiced ease while she squeezed the shit out of Johnny’s real hand and grit her teeth. The Reflex Turner had the worst of the damage, beat to shit and all but beyond repair, somehow it seemed to have taken the brunt of the impact alongside the shoulder. She’d need a new one soon now. Vik had put her under while he opened her up to assess the damage, carefully checking on her spine and nervous system where the implant was hooked up. The concussion was more of a nuisance than anything, hopefully. It was very minor. Johnny knows Val’s style and mental state in a fight to guess that she’d probably been able to finesse the landing as best she could, prioritizing protecting her head over anything else._

_“How could you just let her fall out of a damn window? All I asked was that if you were gonna stick around her was that you keep an eye on her, christ.”_

_Johnny held his tongue again, biting the inside of his cheek so hard he could taste blood. Despite all the jokes, and their own admittedly near inseparableness, he was not actually attached to her at the hip. It’s not like he wouldn’t have thrown himself in the way and have taken the fall for her if he could. Fuck._

Johnny opened his eyes at the feeling of chapped lips pressing against his throat.

“Valerie.” He murmurs, voice gravelly.  
He feels her smile against his skin.

“How are you feeling babe?”  
She hums in response.

“I like laying on top of you. I can, like, feel you talking- it's very soothing.”

“Lovely. I’m talking about your injuries.”

Val pauses, seeming to consider her answer. Johnny lets his hands rub gentle circles over her lower back and hips. He hadn’t realized just how tense he’d been holding himself, only just now realizing it as he felt himself physically relax at the sound of her voice.

“Well my back has certainly hurt less. But it's also hurt more, and so has my head, so I’ll probably live. Thank you once again to Viktor. I’m gonna have to really go all out for his birthday this year.”

“Me too.”

Johnny may bicker with Vik on the best of days but he was sincerely grateful to the ripper for everything he’s done and continues to do for Val. And himself too. Not many rippers in the city knew how to do proper maintenance on his half-a-century old chrome, even less that took the time to learn to.

Val puffs a laugh at his reply, warm breath ghosting over his collar bone and despite the room already having a practically sticky warmness to it he feels goosebumps raise in reaction.  
They lay there in a comfortable silence for a while then, Johnny continuing to trace nonsensical patterns with his hands. He doesn’t know what to say, really. Part of him just want to say what the fuck, another part wants to tell her she’s never leaving his sight again, that he’s gonna put her on a child leash or some shit, but the biggest part of him is just relieved.

He’s calmer now that she’s awake and seemingly ok, but his heart has jumped to his throat earlier and it still felt like he was swallowing and breathing around it. It was just a normal fucking gig, nothing hard, something they did every week if not practically every day. He swallows thickly and thinks about the dented lamp with Animal brains dripping off of it. Was he really just a few feet of space away from losing her today? Just like that? A scared desperate cry of his name and a crash and poof, he had nothing? No more partner, no more girlfriend, no more soulmate, no more Valerie.

He doesn’t know what he’d do without her, not anymore. They were so intertwined that the thought of life without her made him-

A loud sloppy raspberry being blown messily on his collarbone shakes him from his spiraling.  
“Earth to Silverhand. Your alluring girlfriend is in your arms, literally, and is requiring your attention now.”

His lips quirk in amusement at her faux haughty tone.

“Oh? What is it that’s bothering you?”

“It’s just that we’ve been laying in this position for a while, I, uh, think, and you haven’t even grabbed my ass or anything. It's like I don’t even know you.”

At that he finally laughs, feeling her arms tighten around him in response to the sound, and lets both his hands drop lower to grab a generous handful of her ass, giving it a good squeeze, which in turn draws a bubbly laugh from V.

“See, that’s more like it.”

Johnny just shakes his head with a grin, but he lets his hands rest there anyways to placate any further complaints. He waits to say anything, noting that V seems to be weighing her thoughts again, preparing to speak.

“Johnny?”

“Yeah babe?”

“Don’t worry about it all to much right now ‘kay, let’s just sleep and then we can have ‘oh-thank-god’ sex or whatever later. But I’m tired now so let's just… You just hold me while I get some sleep, ok? I’m gonna be fine.”

Johnny lets his ‘ganic hand slide up her back a bit, drifting to the side to trace the curve of her hip before holding it still, grip firm. He closes his eyes and drops his head down, lips pressing into her hair.

“You’re bossy when you're hurt... but, yeah ok, sounds good.”

**Author's Note:**

> my notes about this were "val fell out a window, silly bimbo"  
> I love soft!Johnny so much but I always worry about writing him correctly..... idk man ;~;  
> anyways thank you for reading !!


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